Medical procedures have advanced to stages where less invasive or minimally invasive surgeries, diagnostic procedures and exploratory procedures have become desired and demanded by patients, physicians, and various medical industry administrators. To meet these demands, improved medical devices and instrumentation have been developed, such as medical grade cannulas, introducers, localization obturators, marker deployment devices, vacuum assisted biopsy devices, and other endoscopic related devices.
In the field of tissue biopsy, minimally invasive biopsy devices have been developed that require only a single insertion point into a patient's body to remove one or more tissue samples. One such biopsy device incorporates a “tube-within-a-tube” design that includes an outer piercing needle having a sharpened distal end and a lateral opening that defines a tissue receiving port. An inner cutting member is slidingly received within the outer piercing needle, which serves to excise tissue that has prolapsed into the tissue receiving port. A vacuum is used to draw the excised tissue into the tissue receiving port and aspirates the excised tissue from the biopsy site once severed.
Among other features, such biopsy devices are generally designed for use in conjunction with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). This compatibility is realized because many of the components of the biopsy devices are made of materials that do not interfere with the MRI equipment or are otherwise compatible therewith. It is often desirable to perform biopsies in conjunction with MRI because it is a non-invasive visualization modality capable of defining the margins of a tumor. During such procedures, a localizing obturator is often used to assist the physician in identifying the precise location of the biopsy site to ensure that the biopsy device and other medical treatments are accurately placed within the biopsy site. Hence, it is critical that a portion of the obturator be clearly identifiable under MRI so that the physician can clearly identify the biopsy site before performing a biopsy procedure.
Regardless of the method or instrument used to perform the biopsy, after the biopsy is completed, subsequent examination of the surgical site may be necessary, either in a follow up examination or for treatment of a cancerous lesion. Therefore, a separate marker deployment instrument must be employed to release and insert a site marker into the biopsy site for future identification.